Tomorrow marks the start of Chinese new year — the year of the snake — and Markham’s large Chinese community is ready to celebrate.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Lantern Festival or Spring Festival marks the start of spring and is shrouded in history, mystery and symbolism.

This the most important time of the year, Ward 6 Councillor Alan Ho said.

New Year’s Eve is a time of reflection.

“At the end of the year, you look at what went right and what went wrong that year,” he said. “This is a time to change and make plans for the new year. Spring brings new life. This is a new start.”

To mark the new year, many Chinese residents will visit a local temple to light a candle representing his or her wishes for the new year.

“God takes care of the sincere and hard working,” Mr. Ho said. “Those who make their wish the next morning are seen as lazy and those wishes won’t come true.”

The start of the new year was marked by the appearance of the Nian sea monster, who would rage through the local village once a year to torment local villagers.

Since the monster was scared of loud noises and bright colours, fireworks, parades and red are common sights during the New Year 15-day festival.

“When the monster came out, the local farmers knew spring was coming soon,” Mr. Ho said. “Then there was 15 days before farmers had to go back to work.”

The last day of the festival is like Valentine’s day, when youth courted prior to returning to the fields.

You will also see red envelopes passed between friends. Many put money and even lottery tickets inside with hopes of a prosperous new year.

This coming year is the year of the snake and is meant to be a time of steady progress and attention to detail. According to Chinese lore, you will need focus and discipline to achieve your goals. This is also a good year to start important detail work, such as research or investigations. Also, attention is required when it comes to signing important documents this year.